Survey Reveals Americans Fear Diabetes Diagnosis but do Little to Prevent It

Survey Reveals Americans Fear Diabetes Diagnosis but do Little to Prevent It

April 29, 2009

By: Alex Golonka for Diabetes1

A recent online survey published by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has revealed that over half of Americans fear being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but are doing little to prevent it.

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Healthy Tips

·The earlier diabetes is diagnosed, the easier it will be to manage. If you are due for a doctor’s appointment, ask your doctor about your risk for developing diabetes.

·Eating healthier and living a more active lifestyle are two actions anyone can take to improve their health and avoid high blood sugar.

·The number of Americans who suffer from diabetes has increased threefold in the past 20 years, take steps to ensure you are not one of them.

The survey was announced as part of the ADA’s 21st American Diabetes Alert Day. The annual event was designed to warn people about the risks of diabetes. In the past 20 years, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased threefold from 6 million people to 18 million. In addition 25 percent of people living with diabetes don’t even know they have it. This year’s Alert Day highlighted the risks of ignoring diabetes. If the disease is ignored by the public, even more people will be diagnosed in the future. And for people who have already developed type 2 diabetes, ignoring the diagnosis can lead to serious problems in the kidneys, heart, eyes or brain.

The main concern of Richard M. Bergenstal, ADA's president-elect for medicine and science is that Americans are aware of the threat type 2 diabetes poses to them but do not take the steps to counteract it. Over half of those surveyed said they feared chronic illness more than anything, even above acquiring massive debt or losing their jobs. When asked about their eating habits, about half said they were overweight and not eating healthy.

Managing and preventing diabetes is a huge challenge, but not impossible. Eating better, living a more active lifestyle, and scheduling regular doctor’s appointments simple steps that a person can take to both manage diabetes and prevent it. Early diagnosis is key and the earlier that happens, the easier it is to treat diabetes. In addition, the risk for diabetes-related complications decreases. Considering most Americans are diagnosed 7 to 10 years after developing the disease, this is a big problem. Trying to reverse the effects of diabetes after all, is much harder than preventing the disease altogether.

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